TAMARIND

Description: Don't get fooled by the Latin name. Although
synonymous with S. Indian cooking, Tamarind is indigenous to tropical Africa,
grows wild in Sudan and was introduced and adopted in India centuries ago from
where it spread to other parts of Middle East and the Far east. The Arabs call
it “tamar hindi” (Indian date, from the date-like appearance of the dried
pulp”). Hence“Tamarind”. Today South Asia and Mexico are the largest producers
and consumers of Tamarind.

It is a tropical long-lived, bushy tree, which grows
40 to 60 feet and is comfortable in hot, humid and dry climates. The tree is
major shade producer given its girth, dense foliage and wide canopy

Tamarind has a characteristic sour taste with a
slight undertone of sweet (but do not even remotely think of its taste as
similar the Chinese sweet & sour soup!). Due to its signature sourness, it
is the base raw material for daily cooking of almost every type of sambar, several recipes of rasam and chutneys. (click
here to view video). Puliogare or
Tamarind Rice is major S. Indian delicacy and chinta chiguru is a delicious and healthy Andhra soup that is a dal made with the tender Tamarind leaves
and Moong.

Tamarind Ade is an interesting drink popular in the
Bahamas, Mexico and several countries in Africa. In Thailand Tamarind seeds are
used as coffee replacement. In fact Tamarind seeds do look like coffee beans
only a little larger and shinier. Its unique sweet and sour taste can be
thought of a substitute for lime, lemons, vinegar and cocum, only
significantly, healthier

Kitchen
Pharmacy: The whole tree is a
medicine chest! The leaves, the fruit, the seed and even the bark offer a range
of incredible health benefits, both for wellness and for treatment of various
disorders.

The Tamarind sourness comes form Tartaric acid a powerful anti-oxidant. Its pulp contains
non-starch polysaccharides or important dietary fibers that aids digestion and prevents
constipation.

“..Dietary
fibers in the [Tamarind] pulp bind to bile salts (produced from cholesterol)
and decrease their re-absorption in the colon; thereby help excretion of “bad”
or LDL cholesterol levels from the body”[i].Tamarind
preparations are recognized as refrigerants (used to reduce fevers), laxatives
and carminatives (soothes the gut walls, and induces the expulsion of gas). The
paste is used on inflammations, to gargle for a sore throat and, mixed with
salt, as a liniment for rheumatism. The pulp is even said to aid the
restoration of sensation in cases of paralysis.[ii]Lotions and extracts
made from them are used in some cultures for treating conjunctivitis, as an
antiseptic, as a vermifuge, (to remove intestinal worms) for treatment of
dysentery, jaundice, erysipelas (a bacterial skin infection) and hemorrhoids.The bark of the tree is regarded as an effective astringent, tonic
and even a febrifuge (fever reducer).